I make this Oath solemnly, freely, and upon my honor....
-- Hippocratic Oath

Honor.

Residents at the University of Cincinnati wear this word on their white coats to remind them of the promises they made when they became physicians.

Changes in residency regulations over the past few years have led to fragmented care and a compression of the educational experience. Residents are caught in a system that doesn't allow them to put their patients first. Promises are broken.

As part of the Educational Innovations Project we have designed our residency program so resident physicians are able honor their promises.

Our mission: we train residents to help people get well and stay well.

Helping people get well has always been the traditional focus of internal medicine. At UC we've enhanced our already strong inpatient acute care services by adopting patient-centered rounds and an evidence-based call system. We've constructed a team approach to inpatient care, and we track what happens to our patients when they go home. Did they stay well? If not, why not?

Helping people stay well is a primary goal of our residency. Our Ambulatory Long Block provides the kind of real-life continuity needed to manage patients with complex problems. Care is team-based, and we meet weekly to review and act upon quality information, patient satisfaction, and practice management data. In addition, we've created a non-Long Block track in the second year where residents are responsible for studying and improving the transitions of care for patients moving between the hospital and the clinic.

We protect the educational experience with our inpatient Academic Half Day and our Advanced Ambulatory Practice curriculum. Seasoned clinician-educators lead hands-on learning sessions in built into the workflow of each week.

Educational outcomes are a top priority. We evaluate our conferences not just on the quality of the speakers, but also on the skills residents obtain from the presentations. We judge our research programs not only by the number of residents doing research, but on the quality of the publications and presentations produced. And, we assess our board review series by our excellent in-training examination and American Board of Internal Medicine scores.

High quality health care and world class education are promises that require dedication and hard work. I am proud of our residents because they honor these promises and pleased to be part of an institution that gives them the space to do so.

To learn more about our program please click on the links above or the title bars to the left. Or, if you have any questions, email me at warmej@ucmail.uc.edu.

I look forward to working with you,

Eric J. Warm M.D., F.A.C.P
Program Director Internal Medicine